Experience

St. John's Community Health

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Supervisor & Clinician

  • Feb 2017 - Present

  HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO ME! AND STILL HAPPY HERE!!!! I am so inspired by the people I am serving in South LA, at St. John's, near Slauson & Hoover. I've always loved LA, and this new experience in South LA is teaching me a lot and pushing me to keep developing a soulful practice which can help people live out their dreams. I'm lucky to use my 20+ years of experience to work with kids, adults, families and amazing clinicians at a cutting edge radical organization dedicated to social justice. I'm proud to be part of a team at St. John's which aggressively seeks to serve youth who have recently arrived from Central America, their families, and transgender community at a very intense time for us all. It's a medical clinic setting, which is new for me, and few of our patients are uninsured, thanks to Medi-Cal and the Affordable Care Act. Show less



Psychotherapy Private Practice

• Greater Los Angeles Area

• Depth Psychotherapist - PhD LCSW

  • 2005 - Present

  I am honored to work with people who have survived trauma and abuse, coped with addictions, suffered depression and panic attacks, existential crises, loneliness, and creative blockage. The more deeply I work with each of my patients and committed couples, the more I am impressed by their strength and creativity. I thrive on walking alongside my patients, witnessing them as they develop insight, understanding, and respect for their own experience. In our work together, we greet Pain and Suffering and ask "How will you serve our development?" Like Billie Holliday sang, "Good morning, Heartache. Sit down." My license, training and education in social work and depth psychology allows me to work with people from a wide range of life experiences -- artists, gang members, educators, doctors, students, psychologists, and people who defy or resist all categorization. The psychotherapy process is a sacred Art form, not an exact Science. In 2015 I completed a PhD in Depth Psychology With an Emphasis in Psychotherapy a.k.a. Depth Psychotherapy. Since 2008, my scholarly work has boosted my enthusiasm, sharpened my skills, and invited rich material into the room with my patients. I completed a dissertation which you are invited to read http://gradworks.proquest.com/3701780.pdf Your referral to a friend or family member means a lot to me. Show less



Mount Saint Mary's University

• United States
• Higher Education
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Adjunct Faculty

  • Dec 2016 - May 2017

  A select group of Mount Saint Mary's MFT / Psychology students dedicate themselves to working bilingually in the communities of Los Angeles. They join a program called Enlaces! and take some of their classes in Spanish. In the Spring of 2017 I was lucky to teach a class in Group Therapy to these fine clinicians-to-be. Working in Spanish is one thing, but lecturing in Spanish, and teaching how to lead groups in Spanish was mind-blowing and exhausting. A select group of Mount Saint Mary's MFT / Psychology students dedicate themselves to working bilingually in the communities of Los Angeles. They join a program called Enlaces! and take some of their classes in Spanish. In the Spring of 2017 I was lucky to teach a class in Group Therapy to these fine clinicians-to-be. Working in Spanish is one thing, but lecturing in Spanish, and teaching how to lead groups in Spanish was mind-blowing and exhausting.



USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work

• Higher Education
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Adjunct Faculty

  • Dec 2016 - May 2017

  2017 was a gnarly year for leadership. This was the year that I accompanied last-semester Master's of Social Work students on a journey into LEADERSHIP. We analyzed our own leadership strengths and styles, and dissected the same of president trump, President Obama, and almost presidents Clinton and Sanders. I continue to be impressed with USC students, and look forward to more teaching adventures in less fraught times. 2017 was a gnarly year for leadership. This was the year that I accompanied last-semester Master's of Social Work students on a journey into LEADERSHIP. We analyzed our own leadership strengths and styles, and dissected the same of president trump, President Obama, and almost presidents Clinton and Sanders. I continue to be impressed with USC students, and look forward to more teaching adventures in less fraught times.



Para Los Niños

• United States
• Non-profit Organizations
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Mental Health Coordinator, Clinical Supervisor, Mental Health Services, Student & Community Services

  • Sep 2012 - Oct 2016

  As part of the PLN team, and as a Dept. of Mental Health (DMH) contracted provider, I supervised mental health clinicians who provide mental health services to children on Skid Row in Los Angeles, at four area schools, and in their homes. I was fortunate to be able to participate in an integrated services team approach to focus on Infant mental health, school-age mental health, and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. This work is at the vanguard of working with clients experiencing trauma, poverty, academic adjustment, stress due to domestic violence and abuse. Also, I had the benefit of working with people whom I admire who have indefatigable energy and great wisdom in the areas of connecting directly with the most resilient and hard-working people in our city. On the PLN team are people dedicated to working with the most marginalized people in our city, and families are treated with the utmost respect and high level of compassion. I have had the opportunity to supervise and collaborate with a wide range of people: Family Partners, child development specialists; a community advocate for pregnant women who is a doula, midwife, lactation consultant; child care specialists; psychologists; LMFTs, LCSWs, MSWs; MFT-I's; bilingual educators; Head Start professionals; nutritionists, and more. Show less



Researcher

• Research Services
• 400 - 500 Employee

• Research

  • 2010 - Apr 2015

  I completed research the phenomenological zest in, around, and under the practice of psychotherapy in a home office. In 2014 I interviewed seven psychotherapists and analysts who have experience welcoming clients or patients into their home offices. Few scholars have approached this topic with the curiosity and experience I bring to it, and I successfully amplified the voices of experienced practitioners and perhaps help others understand unexamined aspects of this way of doing psychological work in this setting. The final dissertation is accessible for free, on the web, the Abstract: http://gradworks.umi.com/37/01/3701780.html The full manuscript as a PDF http://gradworks.proquest.com/3701780.pdf Show less



University of Southern California

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Adjunct Professor, School of Social Work

  • Jan 2011 - Jan 2012

  Guiding students into their careers of psychology, social work, and marriage and family therapy continues to be my most important calling, after clinical work in my psychotherapy practice. I enjoy sharing wisdom, offering mentorship, and staying apprised of current movements in education and the ways millennials and other optimistic professionals are transforming our world. Guiding students into their careers of psychology, social work, and marriage and family therapy continues to be my most important calling, after clinical work in my psychotherapy practice. I enjoy sharing wisdom, offering mentorship, and staying apprised of current movements in education and the ways millennials and other optimistic professionals are transforming our world.



Homeboy Industries

• United States
• Non-profit Organizations
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Director of Case Managment Services

  • 2004 - 2010

  I learned most of what I know now about working with people while I served the community at Homeboy Industries, off and on for about 10 years. I am grateful to Father Greg Boyle and the homies and homegirls for my education in hope, resilience, profound change, and kinship. Details about my different positions are on my CV. >>>> Read Tattoos On The Heart, by Greg Boyle and watch G-Dog The Movie by Frieda Mock! I learned most of what I know now about working with people while I served the community at Homeboy Industries, off and on for about 10 years. I am grateful to Father Greg Boyle and the homies and homegirls for my education in hope, resilience, profound change, and kinship. Details about my different positions are on my CV. >>>> Read Tattoos On The Heart, by Greg Boyle and watch G-Dog The Movie by Frieda Mock!



Para Los Niños

• United States
• Non-profit Organizations
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Director of Youth Workforce Services

  • 2004 - 2008

  Director of Youth Workforce Services Director of Youth Workforce Services